Car door construction



April 1941- J. LUKASZEWSKI 2,2 12

CAR DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 9, 1959 Patented Apr. 1, 1941 U N I T E D STAT ES PAT. N T OFF! C E 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in car door construction'and has for one of itsprincipal objects the provision of means for operably associating a lift type sectional closure ina car door opening.

The present method of forming a closure between a conventional car door and the material loaded within the car consists of securing boards or the like to the wooden door posts. The boards are usually fastened with nails or spikes which results in damage to the door post. Moreover, closure boards cannot be nailed or readily secured to the new type cars in which metal door posts are used.

The present invention provides means whereby a closure member, consisting of either a sectional door or individual boards, may be secured in place between either metal or wooden door posts.

Another object of advantage and importance of the improved construction resides in the provision of means whereby closure members may be removably positioned in the doorway of a car having either metal or wooden door posts.

Still another object of importance resides in the economical production and installation of the door post facing member of this invention- Additional objects of advantage and importance will become apparent as the following detailed description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a car door opening, parts thereof being broken away, which embodies the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a slightly modified form of a door post facing member.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-45 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a section of a slightly modified form of a sectional closure member.

As shown in the drawing:

The reference numeral ID indicates generally a car door opening. The frame thereof may be of either wood or metal construction.

Positioned on each side of the door opening I0 is a door post H2. The door posts l2 may be formed of wood or metal or any other suitable material.

Positioned on each door post I2 is a door post facing member 14. The members M may be bolted, riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the door posts l2.

Formed in each facing member I4 and extending longitudinally thereof, is a groove [6. When the facing members M or Illa are operablypositioned in the doorway, the grooves I6 are on opposite sides of the door-opening and form a track or guideway'for'moving a door therein.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the groove 5 near the upper end of each facing member is curved, as is best shown in Fig. 2. Each curve has a radius great enough to allow a flexible door to be moved therein from a vertical to a horizontal position and back without binding.

Joined to each facing member near the upper end thereof, and forming a continuation of the groove I6, is a channel shaped member I8. It is to be noted that this construction provides a track, in which a door may be operated, extending from the door opening upwardly and inwardly across the car.

Positioned in the grooves 16 and operable throughout the continuation of said grooves as formed by the channel members I8, is a sectional closure member 20. The closure member 20 is preferably formed of a plurality of boards maintained in loose association by means of flexible metal strips 22, as is best shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The slots 25 in the flexible strips 22, allow the securing means 26 and through them the boards of the closure 2|] limited independent movement. The independent movement allows the boards of the closure member 20 to separate sufficiently to negotiate the curve in moving from the vertical j to the horizontal position.

Secured to the closure member 20 and extending to a point near the upper end of a door post I2 is a cable 21. A counterweight 28 is attached to the free end of the cable. The counterweight and cable assembly are attached to facilitate operation of the closure member 20.

A modified form of a closure member 20a is shown in Fig. 7. This closure member 20a. consists of a plurality of joined metal strips 30. The longitudinal edges of each stripare,turned or curled to form one-half of a flexible joint, as is clearly shown in Fig. 7. Foreign matter, such as grain or the like, is prevented from entering the flexible joints by positioning the closure 28a in the grooves In with the left side, as shown in Fig. '7, toward theinterior of the car.

The modified form of the door post facing member Ma, shown in Fig 4, is adapted to employ individual boards to form a closure member. In this construction the groove It extends from the bottom of the facing member to a point adjacent the top thereof. The groove adjacent the top of the post is expanded to the inner side of the member, as is indicated by the reference numeral 32, and is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Boards of various widths may be positioned in the expanded portion 32 of the groove l6 and then moved downwardly in the grooves Hi to form a closure member. The closure member may thus be built up to any desired height. Boards are removed from the groove l6 by raising them to the expanded portion 32 and then moving them laterally of the member Ma.

It will be apparent from the foregoingthat herein is provided a device which may be economically produced and installed in any of the present type cars. Moreover, the device, when installed and in the opened position, presents no obstacle or bar to free entry into or exit from a car with which it is associated.

Furthermore, the device of this invention may be readily installed on present cars. And when so installed, the improved device provides a practically. indestructible means for maintaining a closure of any desired height in a car door open- It will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the device appertains, that numerous changes and alterations covering a wide range may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention. Accordingly, it is understood that the patent granted hereon is not to be limited by the specific embodiment shown or in any other way except as necessitated by the terminology of the appended claim when given the range of equivalence to which it may be entitled.

I claim as my invention:

In a car door construction, a door opening, a door post on each side of said opening, guide and supporting means on each post for operably receiving a vertical lift closure member, said guide means including a vertical groove on each side of said door opening, the upper part of each groove being expanded to theinner edge of each door post, and a closure member operably associated with said guide and supporting members, said closure member comprising a plurality of boards in edge to edge relation, a slotted flexible member joining said boards together, each of said joined boards being independently movable a limited distance in a vertical direction in respect to said other boards and said slotted flexible joining member.

JOSEPH LUKASZEWSKI. 

